MOSCOW—A new report shows that 81% of Americans and 72% of Canadians admit to feeling stressed by the news of data breaches.
The Kaspersky Lab report, “The State of Cyber-Stress,” found that consumers’ lack of awareness of how to protect themselves from online threats is leading to increased stress levels around technology usage and cybersecurity as a whole, reported the League of Southeastern CUs in its analysis.
To quantify the impact of online threats on people’s stress levels, Kaspersky Lab surveyed over 2,000 consumers in North America on their attitudes towards cybersecurity and what actions they take to protect their data.
As consumers have become increasingly reliant on digital devices to store personal information, millions of people have concurrently become the victim of a data breach in recent years. The pervasive threat of losing personal data to a cyberattack can be a daunting uncertainty, and it is leading to chronic stress.
The report revealed that in addition to data breaches causing cyber-stress, choosing secure passwords and keeping track of login information for a growing number of online accounts can be overwhelming – especially for younger generations. Nearly half (46%) of consumers aged 16 to 24 said that they often find it stressful to manage the number of passwords they have. According to experts, this constant pressure to protect digital data is a catalyst for health issues relating to cyber-stress, LSCU said.
“Research has shown that it’s not the big, acute, one-time challenges that cause the majority of stress-related disease and disorder, but the everyday, nagging, accumulating pressure and tension we feel when we don’t have enough capacity to cope with the demands of life,” explained Heidi Hanna, Ph.D., executive director of the American Institute of Stress. “Especially when we feel unsafe, out of control, or unable to keep up with the pace of change, something that is inherent in our constantly-connected, digital lifestyle.”
The research revealed that consumers’ fears about becoming the next victim of a cyberattack are justified. Kaspersky Lab found that 46% of survey respondents have experienced at least one cybersecurity issue in the last five years. Furthermore, a small percentage of people – 14% of Americans and 6% of Canadians – admitted to facing four or more cybersecurity issues in the last five years, LSCU said.